Eye of the Beholder
by Emo-Shukun
Summary: Right when Ichigo and Toushirou are in a good place, Ichigo is thrown into a parallel universe... 3 years in the past. After defeating F!Aizen, he has to figure a way to get back in time so he doesn't break his promise! Problem: F!Toushirou has a crush.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 01**

**Eye of the Beholder**

**Now—**

"No Toushirou, stop swinging your Zanpakutou with so much anger. If you want me to help you train, then you have to listen to me." The male carrot top frowned sadly at the angry friend before having to take a water break whether the other agreed to it or not. "Come over here and take a break in order to cool off that hot head of yours. I'm not going to let you train under my watch with that attitude."

Hitsugaya Toushirou hesitated for a brief second upon whether he should listen to this man by coming over to his side for a break. They were deep within the cave that he had been training himself nonstop for the past three years since the war, and finally had a teacher after two years. He eventually gave a slight nod before reverting from his bankai mode to sheath his Zanpakutou before coming over to the teacher. Although there was a hundred year difference between their ages, there was no denying that his tall, muscular teacher, was very powerful. The moment he sat down to take an unwanted break, a nice, cold, water container was pressed against his forehead as a reward for listening.

"How many times do I have to tell you, your anger will get you killed?" After Toushirou took the water from him, he continued. "Your anger almost cost your life —and Hinamori's, haven't you learned?"  
>"I know, Kurosaki." The captain hissed. "Stop reminding me of what happened. I <em>was<em> there, remember?"  
>"No… you weren't. You were so blind in your rage that there was no way you were thinking straight. I can't tell you how important it is for you to let go of the past Toushirou." His hand reached out to him.<br>Seeing the action, he swatted the hand away before it could reach him. "You may have been able to work your way up from a different way, but this is the path that I have been obtaining my power from!"

"Don't lie to me," not caring that the hate-filled captain had smacked his hand away, he managed to wrap his hand around his shoulders to bring him close. Toushirou began to fight him on the actions. "Stop it," he demanded firmly, causing him to obey. "Drink a little more water, and then take a nap."

"Bastard, how is a nap going to help me get stronger?" He growled. "You always make me sleep!"

"When you train, your body tenses and fighting becomes tiresome because of that pent up anger you hold on to." Once Toushirou finished his water, the carrot top took the container away to set aside for him. "Drinking water is to keep you hydrated, but have you rest allows you to start over later."

Toushirou did not like his methods of training; he could not use hatred in any manner at any time, and he would practically be scolded the moment he disobeys. His teacher would not physically harm him to show his disapproval of the aggressive methods, but the signs of his disapproval were painful enough. Watching such a strong powerful man look at you unhappily with disappointment, you could not help but feel that you had let them down. He tiredly leaned his head on the man's firm chest since he was aware that he was not going to be able to go anywhere any time soon. The captain did not like how this man was trying to train him, but… he would do anything to endure the strength this man has, too.

"I'll let you sleep for an hour," the man whispered. "We'll try a new approach for you when you wake."  
>"What… kind of… approach?" He was slowly slipping into his dream world where he could sleep.<br>"Instead of fighting against Aizen, you'll fight against me, to protect Hinamori. That's all, okay?"  
>His head faintly motioned a nod against the carrot top's chest. "Thank… you… Kuro…sa…ki…"<p>

Kurosaki Ichigo smiled softly before whispered. "You're welcome, Toushirou."

"Nh… " said captain slightly shifted. "It's…" his head fell slightly forward, "Hitsu…gaya—" he fell over and collapsed onto Ichigo's lap without realizing it most likely. "—Taichou…" Toushirou groaned. "To you…"

"Ah…" Ichigo's smile had gently widened. "Good night, Toushirou."

The captain quietly grumbled as he fell into a deep sleep, nuzzling up against his pillow that happened to be his teacher. This cave was distant and out of the way, but the best thing about their situation was that Ichigo had no reiatsu to find. However, there was one person that knew about their location, while two people knew about Toushirou training under Ichigo. Everyone thought that the youngest captain disliked the carrot top with a passion, but they also knew that he had a soft spot for him. All Shinigami officers had a soft spot for Kurosaki Ichigo because of everything that he had done to keep them alive.

If it were not for Ichigo, there would have been many casualties on their side.

"Ichigo," a voice whispered.  
>Said man looked, "Rangiku-san."<br>"Did he fall asleep already?"

"Yes, but you might wake him up." Toushirou was a light sleeper most of the time, but there were some occasions where he could sleep as deep as the dead. "Is there something you need? I just got him to take a nap, and you know he gets upset when there's another here when he wakes." Last time, the little captain went rampaging on his subordinate when found sleeping against Ichigo's chest a month ago.

"I came for you. Soutaichou wants to talk to you when you're free." She smiled at her captain's sleeping face. "Only when he's sleeping against you does he look so peaceful." Rangiku wanted to giggle at this.  
>"Jii-san will have to wait an hour when this guy wakes up." If he said Toushirou's name, he knew he would start to stir awake. "Do you have any idea what he wants to see me about? I don't want to go."<br>"Sorry, I only received a Hell butterfly to relay the message to you—" her body stopped moving as her captain slightly shifted around against Ichigo. "He's so cute, I just want to pinch his little cheeks!"

Toushirou's eyelids were shot wide at the exclamation, causing Ichigo to slap his forehead in dismay.

"Matsumoto!" The captain roared furiously to avoid revealing his embarrassment of being caught, once again, sleeping against Ichigo's chest. "What are you doing here! You're supposed to be doing reports!"  
>"She came to tell me that Jii-san wants a meeting with me, I was just telling her that she would have to wait an hour." It was too late though, there was no way in Hell that Toushirou would go back to sleep.<br>"Then go get your affairs in order." He got up, glaring icily at the subordinate who knew she was safe because Ichigo would tell him to back off otherwise. "I'll train myself until you return from seeing him."  
>"No, you're either going to go back to sleep, or meditate until I return. If I even catch your reiatsu shift, I won't help you for two months, <em>again<em>." As soon as Ichigo said this, Toushirou turned his glare to him.  
>"You heard <em>Sensei<em>!"The lieutenant cheered happy before wrapping an arm around Ichigo's arm. "I'll stay here to make sure you do one or the other, right, _Kurosaki-sensei_?" She chirped too happily to him.

About six months ago, Toushirou had managed to train properly, and so Ichigo praised him by giving him a hardcore battle. It had taken so much out of the captain that he had accidentally called him 'teacher' after an exhausted 'thank you,' and Rangiku was there to overhear it. From thereon, she had been doing her best to poke her fun at her captain whenever the opportunity would knock on her door.

"Rangiku-san," Ichigo warned patiently. "Leave Toushirou alone and go do your work properly. We had a deal, remember?" He had an advantage over her; it was not his style, but telling Toushirou where her stash of sake and adult magazines kept her in check. "I'll be back in an hour, I promise." He turned to—  
>"Kurosaki?" His tone not as rough as before. The two looked at him when hearing the slight foreign tone. Ichigo glanced at Rangiku, nodding for her to go ahead and leave so he could hear Toushirou out. "Why do you continue to say that to me before you leave? <em>Only<em> to me?" He sounded…confused.  
>This made him smile weakly. "I told you before that I will never betray you. I'm not going to use you or use Hinamori." He came over to stand in front of the smaller captain, softly bonking him on his forehead before continuing. "By now, you've become accustom to me keeping my promises, isn't that right?"<br>"…yes," it was a painful confession; but it did relieve him to know that he would keep to his word—even more so when he would make a promise. "I'll do my best to get some rest, I'm a little tired." He shoved the man's fist from his head. "You should go see what that old codger wants from you before he's mad."

"Hey," the carrot top called softly, earning his attention. "I probably shouldn't say this if you're going to go back to sleep but…" He paused, trying to think of the best way he could say it to him. "You have to learn—no, you have to decide what is most important to you. Hatred for Aizen, or protecting Hinamori." As soon as Toushirou looked away with a scowl, he knew that he had to get through to him right now. "Toushirou… look at me." The other did not listen. "_Toushirou_," he said more warningly, and said male finally looked at him, allowing Ichigo to sigh freely. "You have to sacrifice one or the other, you can't have it both ways. Continuing to hate Aizen will only cause Hinamori more pain, do you understand?"

"…yes Sen—" Toushirou barely caught himself before calling Ichigo as his teacher, forcing his cheeks to redden as he became defensive. "I got it, alright! Get out of here already before you're scolded at!"

Ichigo smiled softly. "I'll be back soon, I promise."

* * *

><p>"Were you with Hitsugaya-Taichou before coming here?" The old man glared hardly.<br>It perked his interest a little. "Is that a _crime_ that I'm not aware of, Jii-san?"

Shigekuni looked at him in annoyance before closing his eyes quietly when he knew that he would not get through to him in words well. The room was wide and spacious, but quiet and eerie… as went the way that things were in the office of the Commanding-General. Ichigo stood firmly in his place, not about to waver if he was told not to train Toushirou anymore; he would absolutely fight him on this.

"You have my permission."

"E-Eh?" The carrot top faltered on his firm ground, nearly falling over when almost believing that he heard him correction. "Permission for what?" He blinked curiously. "What do you think we're doing?"  
>"I have no idea, but whatever you have been doing has been keeping Hitsugaya-Taichou in check. He has been aggressive recently towards others until you showed up once again in our lives." The old man stated.<br>"Ah… I have been working with him on that…" His brown hues looked to the ground in thought. "He may be older than me, but he's the youngest Taichou. I understand that he's burdened too much. But I—"  
>"Kurosaki Ichigo," Shigekuni called firmly. "I do not need to know about your relationship with Hitsugaya-Taichou, I merely am announcing that you have my permission, but you need to go home."<p>

"Relationship?" Saying the word made him realize what the old man was getting at. "N-No, we're not—"

"I will allow you to come here for two days at a time. In return, you rest in your world, two days at a time, before returning." The Commanding-General ignored the flabbergasted look on the other's face. "You will leave tonight to recover from your time here… whether you return in two days is up to you."

"…e-eh?"

"Dismissed!"

He faintly twitched before catching a slight rise in Toushirou's reiatsu, causing him to use his flash steps to arrive at the scene since the conversation was over. The cave was cold… but it was the same temperature from when he had left earlier, so he was not training, that was good. However, he could not find the mischievous young captain, so he looked around and found him asleep against a rock. It was a little troublesome, but it took fifteen minutes to arrive, and about thirty-five minutes of an odd little chitchat with the Commanding-General. Waking Toushirou up was not going to be fun because he will either attack when woken or become crankier than ever.

"Toushirou," he whispered softly, knowing that he was most likely dreaming if his reiatsu had risen ever so slightly earlier. "Toushirou," his hand came over to the captain's shoulder, shaking him a little bit.  
>"Kuro…go…" A pale hand lazy batted the hand away with little effort. "You…sa…sleep." Luckily, Ichigo was receiving the stubborn Toushirou that did not want to wake up since he was ten minutes early.<br>With this being the case, he came closer carefully to whisper in his ear. "Toushirou, would you like to train?" There was a soft grunt as he nodded ever so lightly to the offer. "You have to get up then."

Brows knitted in displease before eyelids started to flutter tiredly to look over his shoulder. "Kuro…saki? You're… back?" The captain began to sit up straight, rubbing his eyes. "Are we… going to train… now?"  
>"Yes, but you have to get up if we're going to get back to the session." He tried not to smile, but it was interesting to see him in such a daze. "Come on, get on your feet so I know you're not sleeping still."<p>

There was a little unwritten rule that he learned about the captain; he needed to have a one-hour nap minimum, or he cannot function properly. Technically, though, he had an hour sleep if Ichigo counted the ten minutes that it took to get him to sleep in the first place. The only problem was that he was not sure when Toushirou managed to go back to sleep, so this could be a little bit of a problem. Toushirou slowly, but surely, got up on his two feet as he lightly swayed back and forth to keep himself awake.

"You're not sleepwalking again, are y—" Before he could finish his sentence, the other began to fall forward, and he quickly moved in front of him to make the catch. "Toushirou," the carrot top sighed as he held him up. "You have to snap out of it, don't you want to train?" The captain nodded against his chest. "Okay then, you have to w—" Toushirou grabbed the hem of his upper clothing and kissed him. Alarms rose in Ichigo's mind, causing him to place the captain at arm's length to yell. "Toushirou!"

Said male shuttered and cringed at the loudness, and looked at him through wincing eyelids, wondering what he was yelling about. It did not take long before Toushirou realized that he had just did something stupid when he found himself standing on his own two feet. There were times where he did things when he was half-asleep, and his lieutenant told him once that he 'pounced' Ichigo before attacking her.

"What did I do?" Now wide-awake, he wanted answers. "Kurosaki, _what_ did I _do_?"

"Don't worry about it…" Ichigo looked away unhappily, trying not wipe his lips from the surprise.  
>"Don't lie to me, what did I do Kurosaki? I obviously touched you!" He looked him over for clues.<br>"Hey—I'm not lying about anything." His attention shot over to the mouth of the cave. "…Renji."  
>"I don't think a <em>kiss<em> is something someone _shouldn't_ worry about." Said redhead stated firmly.  
>Ichigo rolled his eyes. "What are you doing here?" He eyed him as he came over to the two.<br>"Saw you walk by earlier and thought I'd tag along. Then you had a meeting and I waited."

"Yeah… well, there was a mix up…" Thinking about the assumption mad his cheeks redden slightly. "Oh, you should probably get out of here, we're a little busy." Just as he started to turn toward Toushirou, a hand grabbed his arm to whip him around. His lips smacking against Renji's as the redhead intended.

Toushirou watched, not particularly caring, but was still managing to glare.

"—Renji!" Ichigo shoved him off, and punched him in the face. The other fell to the ground in pain. "Will you stop acting like an idiot? Toushirou woke up and mistook me for someone else, he's bad at waking up in his right state of mind like you!" Obviously, he was aggressive at this point… but settled down. "I think you should go, I have to finish things here before going home tonight. We'll talk later, alright?"

"Yeah…" Renji tried to relocate his jaw, "…sure."

It did not take long for him to leave the cave, and Ichigo turned to see Toushirou staring at him in horror after hearing the two talk. This was not boding well with the captain as he the words of kissing this man, the thought of it made him bring his fingertips to his lips. A shadow lingered over him—Ichigo managed to stand in front of him once against before the captain could realize it, and tried to back off. Chocolate brown hues gave him a fierce scowl for even thinking of taking a step back from him, so he stayed firm.

"You were half asleep, what happened doesn't have to mean anything." He placed a hand on his large Zanpakutou on his back. "Now, how about we put that behind us, and I'll spar with you right now?"  
>There was a long pause to consider things before looking up at the carrot top. "Can you tell me what Soutaichou said during your meeting with him?" He watched as Ichigo looked away. "What is it?"<br>"I'm limited to staying here two days in a row, and I have to go home tonight to stay away home for two days." The carrot top wanted to avoid the assumption. "He wanted me to continue working with you."

"He knows you're helping me train?"

"No… but never mind that. Do you want to train or not?"

Toushirou had to let it go by nodded. "Yes, let's train while we can then."

Sure enough, Ichigo sent the first attack to keep him on his feet, shoving him a few feet in order to let him prepare for a stronger attack. Toushirou understood what he was supposed to do, and fought this man seriously without any thought of hatred inside of him. The problem was, it was when he was trying to train without sparring with the carrot top that he would allow the hatred to consume him. He sparred against Rangiku at one point, and there was a haze of aggression within him that he did not understand.

"Are you returning to Soul Society in two days then?" Toushirou asked as he swung his blade at him.  
>He blocked the attack easily. "No, you need to deal with your squad." He dodged another swing.<br>"So then you'll return at the end of the month then to continue where we will stop today?"  
>"Yeah," Ichigo dodged once more, backing up. "But you have to meditate every day."<br>"I understand." The captain saw him back up against a rock. "An opening!"

"S-Shit!" As Toushirou swung his Zanpakutou, Ichigo accidentally caught the blade in hand. "Sorry."

Toushirou stared at him, panting after putting all of his efforts into swinging his Zanpakutou, only to be caught with three fingers. He saw the rock that he slept against… it had cracked at the force he put into the strong thrust, yet this man did not budge. The anger immediately began to fester at the thought of being weak—and everything changed in that split second of changed emotions.

Ichigo took Hyourinmaru away from him as punishment for the negative energy that was supposed to stay neutral during their battle. Once it was carefully placed properly against his body and obi, he held the captain's shoulders to look at him eye to eye, seriously. There was no doubt that he knew the anger and rage that Toushirou was feeling after watching his Zanpakutou being caught so easily. Toushirou began to stir aggressively as he did earlier by struggling to remove himself from this man's strong hold.

"You're not weak Toushirou, I bet even Jii-san would have lost a finger if he tried to do what I did." He tried to convince him, even thought it was very truthful. "I am very different from everyone here, you know that." It was not hard to remind him. Toushirou stared the man in the face, and could not feel his reiatsu. "You are very powerful, and you'll continue to become stronger at a steady pace as your hatred dissolves, if that is what _you_ want." Ichigo watched him nod. "Then do your best and not think that you are weak because I stopped that attack. I stopped Aizen's attack the same way, and he was terrified—"

"I'm nothing like Aizen!"

"No—I know that!" The man stopped to take a breath to start over. "Aizen was at his limit. You, on the other hand, have a lifetime to grow." Toushirou did not like hearing about how he was not yet mature, but in this line of conversation, he took it well. "I bet that, after I train you to get to my level, you'll be stronger than me!" He smiled as he saw the little captain smirk cockily at this. "Don't let it bother you."

"What are you saying, Kurosaki?" Toushirou retrieved his Zanpakutou. "I _will_ be stronger than you!"  
>Getting himself into position for the pupil, his smile widened all the more. "Bring it on, Toushirou."<br>He grinned in return, losing that split emotion of anger now. "And it's Hitsugaya-Taichou to you!"

* * *

><p>"I can't believe you cut my face."<br>"You had it coming, Kurosaki."  
>"At least Zanpakutou don't rust."<br>"I clean Hyourinmaru often."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ichigo grumbled as he rubbed his cheek where Toushirou scratched him with his Zanpakutou, but was proud nonetheless. "Careful Toushirou," said captain stopped to look around, only to have his head patted on, and his hair rustled. "You're too happy that you managed to cut me…"

It was midnight, and the two went to the bathhouse to soak for a while after the bad training became good in the end. They soaked in the water for an hour or two with content in one another's presence as they listened to the nightly crickets chirping. What was more, Ichigo would always praise him in the beginning upon his improvements, and pointed out some of his flaws to fix. Just as they sensed a group of males coming to use the bathhouse after a night of drinking probably, they came out with robes to relax a little. The group of males turned out to be all the male lieutenants that were heading in to soak in the water, but slightly panicked at the sight of the two that were about to go in the other room.

"Ichigo… what happened?" Renji frowned, coming over to him, looking at the cut.  
>"Toushirou got me with his Zanpakutou." Said man chuckled. "I'm leaving in an hour."<br>"Then I'll join you and watch you take off." Although soaking sounded nice right now.  
>"No, don't worry about it." His tone slightly changed. "I'll see you when I come back."<p>

The others all nodded despite the odd feeling they got from him, and they left to soak.

"Kurosaki," Toushirou called out curiously. The carrot top looked at him. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know…" his attention went to the captain. "Something doesn't feel right." He tried to figure out what the sensation was about. "Sorry, I think I'm going to go home now, maybe I'm just a little tired." It was obvious that the other was in disbelief of his words. Nevertheless, the two went into the room to dress. "I'll be back on the new moon, it's exactly one month from now." After they got dressed, Ichigo began to walk out until Toushirou placed the tip of his Zanpakutou to his throat. "What, you want me to say it?" The captain nodded, causing Ichigo to smile softly. "I'll be back by the new moon, I promise."

Hearing him say this, the captain sheathed his Zanpakutou.

"I thought you didn't want to hear me say that anymore." The suggestion earned him a hard scowl. "I know that you've had a bad experience when it comes to trusting others, but I promise not to let you down Toushirou." Just to tease him, he rustled the captain's head of hair. "You can believe in me."

Toushirou sighed before casually removing the man's hand. "Yes, I know that I can believe you. But it's because I believe in you that it worries me." He looked up at him. "Kurosaki, please, it's Hitsugaya-T—"

"Give up on telling me what to call you." Ichigo smiled weakly. "I'll be back before you know it." Just as he turned to leave, that bad feeling returned. "Toushirou, do you mind if I take your sash with me? Or your Zanpakutou?" The captain glared suspiciously. "It's just, I have a bad feeling about something, and I have a close bond with you and Hyourinmaru. If I activate my fullbring with Hyourinmaru, you'll instantly know that there is something wrong." Toushirou was still unsure of this. "Besides, Hyourinmaru is a part of your soul, if you need the Zanpakutou, it would automatically return to you."

"…fine," Toushirou slipped the sheath from the sash, and gave him the Zanpakutou.

* * *

><p>There was something strange happening around him; everything around him was changing—altering, and so he began to run. Before he knew it, the walls were crashing down behind him, forcing him into his hurry in order to run away from the mess. With a quick flash step, he found himself in a black empty world… it was so empty that it reminded him of the path to and from Hueco Mundo. In every direction that he looked, things seemed vaguely familiar as he quickly made it to a reiatsu-made bridge. Either way, he had to get home, so he started running towards the direction where he thought that it was safe.<p>

"…Kurosaki-san?" A man called behind him.

Ichigo skidded to a stop before turning around to look at the person, only to sigh in relief. "Oh, you scared me U—" he paused to look at her… _him_, rather. "U-Unohana…-san? What happened to you!"  
>The man blinked, also very confused, "I should be asking you the same thing, you sudden lost your reiatsu as I was healing you, and then you suddenly turned into a man. You changed genders just now."<br>"I changed—what?" The carrot top looked himself over cautiously. "I was always a man, why are _you_ a man! You're a woman!" He slapped himself in the face. "Come on Ichigo… you have to wake up now…"  
>"Kurotsuchi-Taichou warned us that something might happen when we entered through the portal, but we have no time for this." The man stated. "Aizen Sousuke is about to make her move on your town."<p>

"Aizen? What are you talking about, I defeated him three years ago during the Arrancar War." Ichigo was lost now. "Look, I was going home after visiting in Soul Society. Aizen is in the eighth prison for twenty-thousand years in Soul Society. I don't know who you are… but you look _a lot_ like Unohana-san."

"We are getting nowhere, I am Unohana Retsu, Taichou of the Fourth Squad. I am assuming you are Kurosaki Ichigo. The precipice worlds are known for their timeline changes, but I can only assume that you have been hurled into some paradox world where our genders are different." Even though Retsu said this as calmly as possible, Ichigo twitched unhappily. "You have taken place of our female Kurosaki Ichigo. If you can understand that, then please help us defeat Aizen so that there will be no casualties."

"A-Ah…" The thought of fighting him again was unnerving. "At least _this_ Unohana-san isn't so scary."  
>"Did you say something, Kurosaki-<em>kun<em>?" Retsu chimed politely in his male voice. "Will you help us?"  
>"Y-Y-Yes ma'am! I mean sir!" His thoughts were instantly changed. "So… I'm… three years in the past?"<br>"I have no time to tell if you are lying or not, but your hair color and style is that of our Kurosaki-san's."  
>"If I'm three years in the past… that means I just left with you to head to the fake Karakura Town to fight Aizen…" His eyes widened. "Toushirou's going to seriously injure Hinamori then, we have to hurry up!"<p>

Although the captain wanted to point out that this is what he had been trying to tell him for the past five minutes, it would prolong their advancements. He watched as Ichigo stepped aside for him, telling him that he could not create a path because he had discarded his reiatsu long ago. Hearing this, Retsu did as told and created the path for them to take as he listened to what casualties he will see when they would arrive at the scene. All Ichigo wanted to do was go home, but if he could make his friends suffer less from this world—paradox or not, he would help them in every way possible.

In the very least, he could figure out how much his powers have improved after training with Toushirou.

A thought occurred to him. "Aizen isn't in his final form… I can practice on him this time." He then called out. "Hey, Unohana-san!" Said man turned his head as they still run through the darkness. "How do I convince everyone I'm on your side? Especially with Jii-san!"

"Jii-san?" He looked puzzled. "Soutaichou?" Ichigo nodded; already forgetting that the old man in _his_ world was an old _woman_ in this world. "If you arrive with me, that's all that matters."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 02**

**Eye of the Beholder**

**Now—**

Ichigo broke through the barrier and arrived on scene just after the wolf captain gave her battle cry…

He immediately sent his well-known attack against Aizen Sousuke's backside twice without going into his bankai mode yet. The attacks alone allowed everyone to know _a_ 'Kurosaki Ichigo' had arrived on the scene, but they were yet aware that it was the male version, and not the female version they expected. After he threw one last attack at the woman's backside, he sharply watched the blue and white lights surround the betrayer as she began to speak.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Sousuke hummed with interest. "Kurosaki Ichigo." She disappeared, and reappeared in front of him who was already sending the next attack, which she quickly had to dodge. It was then did she notice that this was a man. "You, who are you? I'm surprised I mixed you up with—"  
>"There is no mix up, Aizen." Ichigo stated firmly. "I decided to drop by from a different world." He then casually smirked. "But before you start rambling about how I'm thinking I should have been in bankai or have my mask on, save it. I wanted to test your imperfect body and have a little bit of fun while I can."<br>Sousuke lightly glared at him before looking him up and down. "Another world, is it? One where our genders are the opposite of what they are in this word?" She chuckled lightly with amusement. "To think that there was such a useless world such as yours. But, very well, attack me with all your might, Kuro—"  
>"Not so fast," the carrot top interrupted. "You're not worth my time in your present form. Because your blade cannot reach me." With that, he turned to look at everyone as the opposite genders. "Wow, a lot of you look different, I'm curious to see what Byakuya and Renji look like… but then again—" He sighed.<br>Taking this opportunity, she appeared in front of him, about to place her hand on his chest. "You see—" Ichigo grabbed her wrist, breaking it in the process. It forced her to grit her teeth in pain as she tried to escape his tight grasp on her. "You… bastard…! Release me!" With _ease_, Ichigo obeyed without a care.

"Also, before you go raving on about _hatred_. I have no need for such a petty thing." He turned slightly to look at her over his shoulder. "The hatred you placed in Toushirou's heart is unforgivable. Though I may feel responsible for this battle, I alone, can defeat you." His hand came up to scratch his head lightly before looking around again. "Hey, Unohana-san, can you help heal Hiyori first? She—_he_, needs it."

Retsu agreed nicely. "Yes, but I wish you would take this a little more seriously, Kurosaki-kun."

"Ah… don't say it like that. Since I'm here, I'm going to alter things to prevent less pain for everyone that's on Soul Society's side!" He placed his hands on his hips. "Seeing the field like this is nostalgic though." As he looked around he saw a small female captain that looked to be in bad shape. _'Wow, Toushirou looks a little cute as a girl.'_ Ichigo then cringed as he remembered. "Man… Toushirou's going to kill me if I don't get back to the correct world." His right hand reached to his left side where the thin Zanpakutou was placed. "Well, so long as I use Hyourinmaru, he'll know that I'm in a bad predicament."

"Are you implying that Hitsugaya-Taichou gave you possession of her Zanpakutou?" Aizen chuckled.

"I don't think that's any of your business." He focused his mind and soul into the Zanpakutou that heard his plea, turning it into shikai mode. "But I'll have to make sure I give Toushirou a lot more training sessions when I get home." With that said, he started to charge forth—the wolf captain interrupted him.

The furry captain told him not to let the opponent get to him—that he needed to keep a sharp mind in order to fight her. Ichigo looked at her in confusion; he was going to attack in order to warn the Toushirou in his world that something bad happened. Before he could explain what he was going to do, Komamura Sajin looked at him, telling him that she knew why the captains allowed him here first. Again, he tried to explain, except this time he wanted to explain that he arrived after the Arrancar war, but everyone began appearing in front of him.

"We will fight to protect you." The female Toushirou stated firmly as Ichigo sheathed Hyourinmaru.

"Been awhile since I heard that." Ichigo chuckled. "But you don't have to protect me, I can take care of Aizen by myself. Don't be crazy." Just as the female Hirako Shinji began to look at him, he stated firmly. "No, it's not crazy to let me fight him by myself, I know what he's capable of. I don't care about your damn grudges, none of you are strong enough to defeat him—her!" This was starting to get a little more than just _confusing_. "If you—" Wait, he could save another life then… "Fine, do what you want then."

With that, their battle started as Sajin thanked him for coming when he did in order to stop her from most likely committing suicide. Then the others began to have their say before all heading into the battle once he heard them all out, and then he went over to Ichimaru Gin for a talk. The silver-haired woman did not look pleased to see him, but they would have this talk no matter what happened. All that Ichigo had to do was make sure he stopped the others in time before Sousuke makes the switch.

"Ichimaru, are you willing to tell them the truth of why you supposedly _betrayed_ Soul Society?" He asked softly, earning a surprised look. "I know why you joined forces with Aizen, and I will speak on your behalf to those of this world that you are not the enemy. Ichimaru died at Aizen's hand three years ago in the real Karakura Town, and watching Rangiku-san cry was hard for me to watch." Everything was true.

Gin smiled weakly. "My… ain't ya a frightening child." Her attention went to the healing man, Rangiku. "I guess yer telling the truth, why did I join Aizen-Taichou?" She turned to him again. "Answer that, and—"  
>"You became a Shinigami to retrieve what Rangiku-san lost. All I know is that you will die in a few hours if you do not change sides. After all, you haven't harmed anyone. But I need your answer, now."<p>

"You _are_ a scary person." She shrugged casually. "I guess if ya knew all that. Then I got no choice."  
>"As soon as I prevent Toushirou from stabbing the illusion, you will chip your Zanpakutou inside Aizen."<br>"Now I _know_ yer from the future." Her lips curved widely in a smile. "Yer other self ain't so dangerous."  
>"Do you understand?" Ichigo asked warningly, and the other nodded. "Thank you then, Ichimaru."<br>As soon as he vanished, she thought aloud to herself. "His eyes are really strong, I can believe in him."

For the split moment, he had forgotten that there were casualties before Toushirou stabbing Momo, and he had to hurry things up a bit. With a quick flash step, he appeared before Sajin to protect her and her bankai from losing an arm before telling her to get back. Outoribashi Rose then suddenly jumped into the commotion, and Ichigo had no choice but to attack the blond-haired female to stay away. Doing so prevented four casualties in one minute flat, and Sousuke glared at Ichigo bitterly for this now.

"They don't see it yet, but I do." Ichigo raised a hand to snap his fingers, but Soi Fon shoved him out of the way to stab the woman with her shikai as Toushirou froze Aizen's arm over. "H-Hey, Toushirou, Soi Fon, what—" Suddenly, Kyouraku Shunsui stabbed Aizen through the chest. "Wait, stop!" No one was listening to him as Toushirou flew in for the kill because Ichigo was 'new,' and it annoyed him. "Bankai!" The summons alone of Tensa Zangetsu created a gust of strong winds caused everyone to halt at his supposed 'stupidity' of choosing bankai now. "Stop acting blind!" He raised his hand up and snapped his fingers loudly, disarming the illusion, and Momo appeared with a bloody chest from the most recent attack. As the lieutenant fell forward, Ichigo caught him. "Easy there Hinamori, I got you."

Toushirou stared in absolute horror; she was only yards away from doing something she would have regretted for the rest of her life. They were all beginning to realize that, if this woman was really Momo, then the young man down below was the real traitor. As soon as they all turned to look at the woman for her devious problems, witnessing Gin stab her in the back with her Zanpakutou in the distance.

Ichigo then called out. "Ichimaru, do it now!"  
>"Ah," Gin replied. "Kill her, Kamishininoyari."<br>"G-Gin, you bastard!" Sousuke gritted in pain.  
>"Don't take it—it's too late!" Ichigo warned.<p>

The silver-haired female looked up at him before appearing at his side. "You sure can be bossy. Why can't I take it, it was the only thing I was trying to obtain." Obviously, she was unhappy, but obeyed.  
>"It's already merged with Aizen," he answered loudly for every. "He may already be immortal. Take Hinamori to Unohana-san." Toushirou immediately came over to argue. "She's not the enemy!"<br>The captain was slightly taken back. "How can you say that after everything she's done to Soul Society!"  
>"Because I'm from the future! Shut up and be grateful, in my world you nearly kill Hinamori, got it!" As he predicted, Sousuke came back. "Damn…" He looked at her. "Here, hold this Hyourinmaru for me."<p>

Confused and surprised, Toushirou held onto it.

Ichigo then appeared in front of Sousuke, "although I have no reiatsu, my sheer power and bankai mode will substitute for my doing this." With his right arm attached to his Zanpakutou, he used the same exact kidou routine that Urahara Kisuke used in order to seal her once driven into a corner. "Although I _did_ want to play around to test my strength, it looks like looks like I'm a little late for it this time." With that, Ichigo began to swing his Zanpakutou at her, knocking her around like a ragdoll. "What's the matter Aizen, is this too much for you? Or are you that surprised that Ichimaru betrayed you so easily?"

Despite saying this, Aizen Sousuke was driven to her limits quickly without having to use the final move, and she was sealed quicker than Ichigo expected.

"…I think last time was more entertaining." He mumbled under his breath. "Well, not really, he was never a real obstacle after I trained." Ichigo sighed softly before returning to Gin and Toushirou. "I'll take Hinamori, thank you for driving… _her_, to reform so quickly. Pressure on her incomplete form allowed us to quickly—" his eyes widened. "Where's Wonderweiss?" He looked around to find the crazy Arrancar.

Before he knew it, said Arrancar appeared behind him to strike him down, but he vanished in a second to set Hinamori down. The sudden disappearance confused the Arrancar until Ichigo reappeared and kicked her in the head instantly, shooting him across the fake city, hitting against a pillar. Everyone stared at him in disbelief; their female Kurosaki Ichigo was not that strong, and it scared everyone because they could see him, but not sense him. They watched him look towards Gin with a hand out to her with a few words before she handed something over to the carrot top male.

"Guess I kicked him too hard, I'm so used to training with Toushirou that I guess I wanted to use more power than I expected." Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "Oh… that's right, Toushirou's going to kill me if I don't warn him that I'm in a bad predicament." As he was about to grab the Zanpakutou from the female Toushirou, Margera Wonderweiss appeared, covered in blood. "Wow… you managed to survive that…" He scratched his head. "Mm… if I don't deal with you, Jii-san—Baa-chan will, and she'll lose an arm…" Only now did he realize that he had everyone's attention on him. "…guess I should finish this."

"Not gonna use the Negation Box?" Gin asked curiously. "I thought ya'd use it on 'er."

"The odds that she can return are possible despite little to no intelligence—" as he was talking to her, Wonderweiss attempted to punch him in the face, but Ichigo was not shifted. "Hmm, the cut Toushirou gave me is starting to bleed." Irritated, Ichigo took one swipe with his Zanpakutou. "It took an hour to get it to stop bleeding." With an expressionless face, the Arrancar looked at itself before trying to attack again until Ichigo brought his hand out. "I didn't want to do this, but I have no choice but to use it…"

Using the soul within Wonderweiss, he crushed her from inside quickly before managing to throw her to the ground down below. Instantly the Arrancar was destroyed, yet everyone saw the irritation course through him as he wiped his bloody cheek clean. He reverted from his bankai form without much thought as he came over to Toushirou to claim the Zanpakutou from her. The captain backed away with cautious; this man was not _their_ Kurosaki Ichigo, he just finished off Sousuke without batting an eyelash, and killed the Arrancar with a simple hand motion.

"Please return Hyourinmaru to me, I have to let the Toushirou from my world know that something bad has happened to me. If I don't… I don't know what he'll do." Ichigo was patient and content; he could see the confusion as she made sure to keep it from his grasp. "Stubborn in this world too, huh? Fine."

Gin watched the scene take place. "Ya know she's gonna attack me, right?"  
>"You did what you had to for Rangiku-san's sake. You were also against Aizen."<br>"Don't know how you know that still—even if you _are_ from the future."

"In my world, you tried to kill Aizen by yourself before I could arrive, but the bastard came back and cut you down. You were able to see Rangiku-san and me before passing away, you told me everything first… telling me that you were pleased." Ichigo thought about it a little more. "After that, I came back to the field and collapsed in so much pain as I was losing my Shinigami powers. But, I didn't have to go that far this time… I'd hate having to retrieve my powers a third time." He then saw Shinji rushing over to attack.

"Oh… she'd wanna kill me to for hurting the boy." Gin stated as if just remembering.

Ichigo stepped in front of the woman and got the blade, "the fights over. Ichimaru is not your target."  
>"I don't care who you think are, but I'm not letting her get away with stabbing Hiyori!" Shinji roared.<br>In a blink of an eye, he accidentally broke the blade of the Zanpakutou. "Sorry, I almost got angry."  
>"Are you truly Kurosaki Ichigo." An old female voice called out seriously, a meter in front of him.<p>

All Shinigami officers appeared to the sky with their hands on their hilts cautiously in case they were going to be told to attack. Ichigo felt déjà vu from this as it was not the first time Soul Society was after his head, there had been at least two or three occasions. However, there was no particularly way to prove that he was who he claimed he was because they were expecting him to be a female. He tried to think of a way to prove that he was Ichigo, but deemed it useless because Ichigo was Ichigo, that was it.

"Yes, I am. Although I don't understand how I came here, but…" He looked away quietly. "I'm still me, and everyone here are the people that are important to me in my world. Those in my world suffered more from the war, including yourself. In our world, you lost an arm because of the Arrancar I killed." It took a moment to think of things. "Just don't ask me to fight you. I still have trouble restraining myself."

Something caught his attention though, the badge that he kept with him at all times now, was speaking to him loudly. _"Ichigo—where—you—?"_ There was static; the world complicating things. _"N—home—?"_  
>"Renji, can you hear me? Renji!" It went dead. "Damn… too much interference, but I'm not surprised."<br>"If you're Kurosaki Ichigo, tell us something that only she would know." Shinji demanded firmly.  
>"You helped me control my Hollow powers, Jii—Baa-chan probably likes to sneak in a hot bath at ten on the spot, Rangiku-san's stash of sake is in Toushirou's office in a desk in the second draw on the right."<br>"I didn't know he told anyone about that stash." Gin complimented; clapping her hands as well.  
>"What happened to the Kurosaki Ichigo from our world?" Sajin asked firmly to no one's surprise. "Do we have any idea what happened to her?" Everyone looked towards Ichigo suspiciously for this now.<p>

"Look, I want to leave just as much as the rest of you do, but I _don't_ know how I ended up here! I trained Toushirou all day today, had a meeting with Baa-chan—_Jii-san_, came back for more training, had a bath, and headed home through the precipice world! The next thing I knew, Unohana-san was a man!" Ichigo wanted to go home and go to bed, was that too much to ask for? Not having the chance to rest in so long, he swayed a step back."I need to find a way back before I pass out in exhaustion." He then thought about it. But I have to help Ichimaru against Soul Society… which means I have to crash in Soul Society for while in order to be at your hearing to vogue for you. Then again… I don't have my own quarters for another two years… meaning that I have nowhere to stay while I'm stuck in this world… how annoying."

"Judging by the situation, and hearing everything you had to say, I will permit you to come with us." The old woman was hesitant in her answer, but obviously being considerate for once. "Ichimaru Gin, on the other hand, will spend time in confinement until her hearing. Are these terms agreeable then?"

"Yes," Ichigo nodded tiredly before glancing at Gin. "After all, you did cause trouble."  
>She shrugged for being guilty. "Helping defeat Aizen-Taichou will help my case."<br>"Rangiku-san should be stirring." He announced. "Why not go talk to… him."  
>"Mighty nice of ya, <em>Kurosaki-Taichou<em>." Gin teased for him being demanding.  
>The carrot top took it lightly though. "Just don't call me Sensei, please."<br>"Now I _know_ this isn't Ichigo-chan, he has manners!" Shunsui laughed heartily.

Ichigo looked at her, blinking. "Ah… well," he was stumped, so he crossed his arms in thought. "I'm from three years ahead of you guys… I finished high school last year and began training Shinigami officers at the start of last year." His body leaned to the side. "I think Hinamori rubbed off on me when Toushirou forced me to talk with her…" Remembering that time a while back, he placed a hand to his chin to think more on it. "I forgot to tell her I'd be back in a month… I hope Toushirou tells her for me, good grief."

"Everyone," Shigekuni called out. "Gather the wounded, I'll prepare the Senkai gate."

They did as told; Ichigo went over and picked up Momo to take with them while Toushirou was watching him from behind. It was a little annoying to know that her trust was very little in him, but this was still Toushirou, and so it did not surprise him. He wanted to chuckle though since there was really nothing _that_ different between Toushirou's genders, her eyelashes were slightly thicker and her waist a little smaller. Ichigo had a feeling that this Toushirou would look just as slender as the male version, but would have slight curves to match a female description. His eyes closed before his cheeks could dare redden at the thoughts; he may be a healthy teen, but Toushirou was his pupil! Then again, this one was not training under him, so it meant that she was not actually his pupil—but it was still wrong! A quick shake of his head to clear the thoughts, he jumped towards the elder with the little captain following.

"The three of you go first then," Shigekuni demanded, already having the gate open.  
>Ichigo looked at her, "if you kill Ichimaru behind my back, you will regret it, Baa-chan."<br>"Hn… " Despite not fearing him, his threat was taken into great consideration." Go."

* * *

><p>"Now then, who would like to take this Kurosaki Ichigo in until we can settle things?"<p>

There were only four captains available for the moment—excluding the Commanding-General; Ukitake Juushirou and Soi Fon were being treated, and the other three captains were still in Hueco Mundo. They knew that the one male captain left could not keep him in the fourth division because he had to attend to many injured officers due to the war. Shunsui immediately offered with a grin; the Shunsui that Ichigo knew was a womanizer, so no doubt this one was a man killer. That left Komamura Sajin and Hitsugaya Toushirou, and frankly, Sajin would be too depressed upon what had happened during the war.

"I will," Toushirou called out quietly. "I won't allow this man to obtain this Hyourinmaru, so bringing him under the tenth division's barracks should be fair enough." Liar, Ichigo thought. "Will this be alright?"  
>Ichigo shrugged nonetheless, too tired to care. "Fine by me, I'll sleep in the back room like always."<br>"Very well, everyone, get some rest. You all deserve it." With that, the group was dismissed, sort of.  
>Shunsui hopped over, wrapping her arms over his shoulders. "So, <em>Ichigo-kun<em>, what am I like in your world? Am I handsome?" She grinned widely; trying to dig her hooks into him already. "Come on…"  
>"I suppose you are," he answered. "You chase the girls everywhere, so please don't chase me here."<p>

"That's enough for now, Kyouraku." Toushirou stated. "I'm retiring for the night, and I would prefer if this Kurosaki Ichigo would do the same so I don't have to keep an eye on him." She glared.  
>Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Honestly, you were never <em>this<em> menacing. Coy, yes. A brat, definitely. But here you are barking orders like I've never seen before! Did someone forget to give you sweet fermented beans?"  
>Hearing him mention her weakness for such candy made her blush before quickly kicking him in the knee as her revenge. "Now I know you're Kurosaki Ichigo! Stop talking nonsense and get going already!"<br>He growled unhappily, but knew that her foot hurt from kicking him. _'With Toushirou being a girl, that means she goes on her period. If I'm here long enough to endure that, there will be no God in my life.'_

"Well, you can _always_ stay with _me_." Shunsui smiled.

"Let's go, Toushirou." Ichigo grumbled under his breath. "I'm tired, so I'll meet you there." He vanished.  
>"Why are you being so rough with him Hitsugaya-Taichou? He's Kurosaki Ichigo as a man!" She frowned.<br>"Which is why I'm being _rough_." Toushirou scowled. "The Kurosaki we know would've panicked by now."  
>"Well, this one has three years on us, so we don't know how much he's changed since then, am I right?"<br>Her attention went away, "I suppose so." The little captain turned away. "Goodnight Kyouraku."

She was tired from the hard day's work, so going to bed was the best cure for her aches and pains that should have been healed by the fourth division. As the captain came upon the barracks, she saw a group of her officers crowding around the carrot top man that was not her lieutenant. His eyes were calm and mature, but they were holding a lot of pain within them—the second Hyourinmaru began to shake. Her attention went to it at her side; holding it in place in case it decided to venture toward the man who was being too crowded. It was late, she wanted to go to bed, but before she could call the man to their quarter, Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika came over to attack him.

Ichigo stared at Ikkaku for the longest time before bursting out in laughter and tears when seeing that she had a head of hair whereas she was shaved in his world. He scared the tenth division officers a few yards away with his laughter while he stumbled back a bit, still trying to adjust to the sight before Ikkaku tried to attack him with her Zanpakutou. It was only then did he stop laughing and became serious when blocking the attack from the blade and the sheath with it. This caught everyone by surprise, and Ikkaku did not like being showed up, so she brought her Zanpakutou into shikai mode to fight. Although, before she knew it, the man had left her sight and she was out cold; Ichigo hit her nape from behind, carefully.

"You just returned from war Ikkaku… you need to rest." He looked to Yumichika. "Can you take her?"

With a slight nod, she grabbed her friend, and left quickly.

_'At least he's decent.'_ Toushirou thought with a slight smile, and Hyourinmaru materialized immediately.

The ice dragon shot into the sky to create clouds and rain to deter all officers to their quarters to leave the man alone finally. It returned to ground level once the others fled the rain, and brought itself to the carrot top contently, placing its large chin in his hand. This caught Toushirou by surprise; to see the very difficult beast to be so considerate of this strange man that it had entered this world with today. As she watched the two interact, her mind pictured the moment as a man with a pet ice dragon, but shivered.

"We need to tell Toushirou that we're in this world, do you think you can return to him to let him know?" The dragon shook its head. "You can't cross the worlds to get to him, can you…" Ichigo watched the Zanpakutou lower its head to be petted. "We'll find a way to him, alright? I promised that I would be back by the new moon, so we have a few weeks to figure things out." He grinned softly. "Be patient…"

_"That boy will not be pleased if you do not make your deadline, Kurosaki Ichigo."_ Hyourinmaru stated.

"I'm not going to break my promise, alright? Toushirou's had enough betrayals in a lifetime, now go get some rest. We'll try to contact him in the morning." The dragon did as told by returning to the blade. Only then, did Ichigo see the young woman looking at him; she had been caught watching him. "Sorry." He jumped to the second floor. "Seeing me talk to Hyourinmaru must've been unsettling for you."

"Not at all, with you, nothing surprises me. Not even your change in gender." She slid the door open.  
>His eyes rolled at the lie, "I'll keep it in mind when I go to the bathhouse with you next time."<br>"Excuse me?" The captain turned around and slapped him. "I would never bathe with the likes of you."  
>"Jeez! I didn't mean <em>you<em>! I meant the Toushirou in my world!" He looked. "Now I'm bleeding again!"  
>"Serves you right! And no matter <em>what<em> universe we're in, I, would _never_, go to the bathhouse with you!"

"What are you—" It then dawned on him. "The self-conscious thing," he hit his forehead. "I completely forgot about that because of my world." Ichigo gave a light sigh as he covered his mouth to think of things a little more carefully. "Okay," hopefully this would work. "I apologize for what I said. I wasn't thinking. My relationship with the Toushirou in my world is a bit stronger than the relationship you have with the Ichigo in this world." She flinched at his _niceness_. "I can't force my relationship I have with him on to you because it isn't fair to you." He smiled softly. "Will you forgive my outburst, Toushirou?"

"It's Hitsugaya-Taichou to you." The captain stepped aside, "get in, you're soaking wet from the rain."

"That's one thing that will never change in any world I enter." He chuckled before walking in and peeling his upper clothing off. "Do you have that bandage kit in your closet? I need to patch my face up already."  
>"Yes, I'll get it." It did not take long for her to return with the kit that Ichigo had mentioned. When she returned, she found him wringing his clothes dry before also returning to the room to take— "I'll do it."<br>"A-Ah, thank you." Her offer made it easier for him since he could not be able to see what he was doing. "Sorry for the trouble." He sat down to make it easier for her. "It's funny, I do this for you in our world."  
>"Why, do I get wounded a lot when I'm around you?" Although she was curious, she made sure to sound like she did not care. "Or do I get injured a lot when you're training me—which, I don't believe at all."<p>

"You can cut the act," he whispered as she cleaned the wound on his face. "It's alright to be curious. I train him hard so he can get stronger. He wants to be able to protect Hinamori with everything he has to offer." His finger pointed to the scratch on his face. "Toushirou was so proud when he cut my face today during our training." Ichigo grinned. He was obviously proud of his student… and it made Toushirou smile lightly at the thought of it. "You know, you're cute when you smile like that. It's nice…"


End file.
